Monday, November 19, 2012

I submitted questions to the City of San Angelo on the possible conflict of interest regarding the Hickory Pipeline Project, which I stated "were yet to be answered." They included:

1. When did Blake Wilde's Wilde Engineering become a subcontractor on the Hickory Pipeline project?2.
Please send me Wilde Engineering's proposal with scope of work and
conflict of interest documentation for doing business with the City3.
Please send me Water Chief Will Wilde's conflict of interest filing with the city
regarding Wilde Engineering's subcontractor work for the project Will
oversees.4. Please share how much Wilde Engineering has been paid between June and now for subcontractor work on the Hickory project.

I said I'd post City responses after they're received. Truth be told, Anthony Wilson responded to these questions on two occasions. Here is his response to questions #1-4 on Halloween (10-31-12)

As for your remaining questions, the City’s contract for the Hickory
Aquifer project is with Carollo Engineers. The City has no contractual
relationship with any subcontractor Carollo may be using. Questions
regarding its subcontractors should be directed to Carollo.

That's answer #1. As Carollo has no obligation to share information with the public, I pressed the city more directly. This reply came the next day (11-1-12):

It would be atypical for pay applications from a general contractor, such
as Carollo Engineers, to the City to include any invoicing from a
subcontractor. In almost all circumstances, those pay applications are
based upon certain benchmarks the contractor has met toward completion
of the project.

You are, of course, welcome to obtain copies of those pay applications.
Because they are voluminous and may include Carollo tax identification
numbers that may have to be redacted, we’d ask that you please fill out
an open records request.
You will need to fill out the form only down to where you, as the
requestor, signs it. The rest of the form is for internal use and
tracking. Also, here’s a link to the City Clerk’s open records page, in case you need further info about such requests.

That's answer #2. I'd hoped the information would be readily retrievable from the City's financial records or on EADOC, the computer software specified for use on the Hickory Project:

The CONTRACTOR shall utilize EADOC (EADOC is a registered trademark of EADOC LLC) for submission of all data and documents (unless specified otherwise in this Section) throughout the duration of the Contract.1. EADOC is a web-based electronic media site hosted by EADOC LLC.2. EADOC is paid for by the CONTRACTOR.3. EADOC will be made available to all CONTRACTOR’s personnel,subcontractor personnel, suppliers, consultants, and ENGINEER.4. The joint use of this system is to facilitate electronic exchange of information, automation of key processes, and overall management of Contract Documentation.5. EADOC shall be the primary means of project information submission and management

I hoped a quick financial records/EADOC search could produce the information.requested, without printing voluminous pages and redacting confidential information. It was not to be. As Anthony Wilson told me over the phone, the city answered my questions, just not to my liking. That fact we agree upon.